Jones Sues Conte for Defamation

Track and field star Marion Jones on Wednesday sued BALCO founder Victor Conte for defamation, alleging he had falsely accused her of doping before and after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, where she won five medals, three gold.

The lawsuit reiterates Jones’ oft-stated assertion that she has “never taken banned performance-enhancing drugs.”

Filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, it says Conte’s allegations -- “depicting Jones as a drug user, liar and cheat” -- have caused damages “likely in excess of $25 million.” It seeks actual and punitive damages.

Conte issued a statement after the filing of the lawsuit saying he stood by his remarks, made Dec. 3 on ABC’s “20/20” and in an article published in ESPN the Magazine.

The statement said, “This is nothing more than a PR stunt by a desperate woman, who has regularly used drugs throughout her career. I look forward with all confidence to the court proceedings as I stand by everything I said on the ‘20/20’ special. I am telling the truth and Marion is lying.”

Conte and three others associated with the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative stand accused of multiple felony counts in San Francisco federal court. An indictment issued in February alleges the distribution of steroids to elite athletes. A number of Olympic and baseball stars, including San Francisco Giant slugger Barry Bonds, have been linked to the case.

Conte’s Dec. 3 remarks have since prompted an inquiry by the International Olympic Committee. Jones’ lawsuit asserts that his comments may have put unspecified current or future sponsor deals in jeopardy.

Conte said he supplied Jones with four banned substances, including the designer steroid THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone. Her lawsuit said she has never taken banned substances and passed more than 160 doping tests.

Conte was a foot away in a motel room in Covina on April, 21, 2001, when Jones, using a pen-like instrument, injected herself in the right leg with human growth hormone, he said. Jones’ lawsuit said he made that up.

It also said Conte “holds a long-standing grudge” against Jones, alleging that he wanted a far-reaching professional relationship but she remained hesitant -- fueling, it said, a “turf war” that he is “trying desperately to win.”